From the basement of Riverside Church in Harlem, one of the most storied basketball programs in New York took hold, giving teenagers an opportunity to showcase their skills for college recruiters and more.
But buried in the program’s success was a much more sordid history. Its influential head coach and founder, Ernest Lorch, was accused of physically and sexually abusing many of his young players. Nearly all of the men kept their abuse a secret for decades. And the Riverside aides who did speak up about the abuse said church leadership did little to stop it.
On Tuesday, one of Mr. Lorch’s accusers, Daryl Powell, agreed to settle his lawsuit against the church for an undisclosed amount, just as closing arguments were to begin. Mr. Powell’s suit claims he was abused while he was involved in the Riverside program between 1974 and 1983.
The case was the first of more than two dozen suits filed by Mr. Lorch’s former players to go to trial; the civil actions were filed under the Child Victims Act, which extends the statute of limitations for sexual-abuse lawsuits and allows victims to file claims against their abusers until the accusers turn 55. The law also created a one year “look-back period” that revived cases that had already expired under the statute of limitations.
Neither Mr. Powell nor his lawyers would elaborate on the details of the settlement. Representatives for Riverside Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment; the church’s lawyers asserted during the trial that Riverside officials had not been aware of Mr. Lorch’s inappropriate relationships with players.
In an emotional interview immediately after the 11-day trial ended, Mr. Powell said he felt “really shook up” but glad that the grueling ordeal of reliving his abuse in the courtroom was over.
“It’s emotional to carry it to this day,” he said. “It really took a toll on me. But now I have a chance to reflect on what happened to me.”
Mr. Powell, 65, was a teenager seeking refuge from a difficult upbringing in Harlem when, in 1974, he joined the Riverside Hawks, the church’s prestigious club team in the Amateur Athletic Union. He was one of many young Black and Latino players who viewed the program as an offramp from the dangers of his neighborhood and a chance to achieve athletic success.
Under Mr. Lorch’s tutelage, the program turned out players who would go on to compete for top high schools and colleges; some former players, including Nate Archibald, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom and Kenny Anderson, went on to successful careers in the N.B.A.
But Mr. Lorch used his wealth and influence to cover up years of abuse, according to the allegations in the lawsuits.
Mr. Powell and three other former players — each of whom has also sued Riverside — testified during the trial, describing a pattern of sexual and physical abuse from Mr. Lorch during and after basketball practice. (Testimony from another player, now deceased, was also read into the record.)
The former players described how Mr. Lorch would conduct “jockstrap inspections,” during which he touched their genitals, and how he paddled their bare buttocks as punishment for arbitrary missteps on the court. Mr. Powell said Mr. Lorch had regularly watched him and other players in the shower, often smelling them afterward.
Mr. Lorch stepped down from his post as coach in 2002 after a former player filed an affidavit saying he had sexually abused him. That same player, Robert Holmes, received more than $2 million in checks from Mr. Lorch over a three-year period in the late 1990s.
Mr. Lorch was indicted in Massachusetts in 2010 on a charge of sexually assaulting a teenager during a trip there in the 1970s. He died in 2012 before being tried on the criminal charge, and the indictment was dismissed.
A former chief executive of a buyout firm, Mr. Lorch was brought on to lead Riverside’s basketball program in 1961. He often connected athletes to lucrative jobs, top colleges and access to international competitions while footing the bill for their travel, sports gear and college tuition, among other things.
“He had sort of an ironclad hold over New York City amateur athletic basketball for decades,” said Paul Mones, Mr. Powell’s lawyer, who has represented victims of sexual abuse for more than 40 years.
Mr. Lorch also held numerous positions atop Riverside’s leadership, serving as not only the basketball team’s head coach but also as a deacon, leader on the church’s board of trustees and chairman of its finance and executive committees.
Mr. Mones and his firm represent 16 of the 27 men bringing lawsuits against Riverside, and their accounts of abuse span the years 1971 to 1995.
Mr. Powell, 65, is now a deputy sheriff in Virginia. After playing for the Riverside Hawks, he attended Mesa Junior College and Marist College, where he played on their basketball teams. Much of his success on the court was made possible by Mr. Lorch’s connections, he said. But it came at a significant cost to his mental health.
Mr. Powell said he was thankful that the Child Victims Act had allowed him to finally seek some justice for his abuse, and appreciative for the moral support and testimony from the other former players who had sued the church. He also credited Mr. Mones and his legal team with helping him overcome the embarrassment he felt about the abuse, and move forward with the lawsuit.
Asked why Mr. Powell didn’t come forward when he could have, his lawyers pointed to the law as it previously stood, which would have required him to sue before he turned 23 — when he was still in college and grappling with the consequences of Mr. Lorch’s abuse.
Mr. Powell said he still felt that Riverside could offer some good because it had shaped him into the person he was today. But, he added, the church had a lot of work to do — including creating a more secure, safe environment for athletes — to rectify the harm it had caused him and so many other former players.
“It’d been swept under the rug for a long time,” he said. “And a person got away, almost.”
Maya King is a Times reporter covering New York politics.
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